President Biden and his national security team have argued since he took office that the comparisons between this era and the Cold War are misleading and oversimplified. They believe that the current geopolitical moment is much more complex.
There are indeed significant differences. The United States did not have the same level of technological and financial interdependence with the Soviet Union during the Cold War as it does now with China, which complicates the deteriorating relationship between the two countries.
Biden’s advisers also emphasize that Russia is not the same as the Soviet Union. While Russia possesses nuclear weapons, its conventional military capacity has been significantly weakened in Ukraine.
During the Cold War, the United States felt compelled to fight an ideological battle worldwide. In the current era, the focus is on countering China’s use of economic and technological power to expand its influence.
Nevertheless, the echoes of the Cold War are becoming more pronounced. Biden himself referenced the struggle of the Baltic nations to free themselves from the collapsing Soviet Union during a speech in Vilnius, Lithuania. He assured Vladimir V. Putin that the United States and its allies would defend Ukraine and other vulnerable parts of Europe for as long as necessary.
While Biden did not explicitly state that the United States must bear the burden of a long, twilight struggle as Kennedy did during the Cold War, his message conveyed a similar sentiment.
Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, clarified that Biden’s comparison of Lithuania’s story with Ukraine’s struggle did not indicate an attempt to revive the spirit or strategies of the Cold War era.
Sullivan stated, “Fundamentally, there is still a challenge of aggression and a need to defend sovereignty, territorial integrity, freedom, and democracy. However, these elements can exist without reverting back to the Cold War.”
One major difference between now and three decades ago, which went unmentioned during the summit, is the uncertain level of bipartisan support for countering Russian aggression.
Unlike during the Truman administration through George H. W. Bush’s years in office, it is unclear if both major American political parties are fully committed to outlasting America’s geopolitical adversary. While they may disagree on tactics and involvement in local conflicts, the unity seen in the past is not evident now.
